Marrickville’s beloved The Vic On The Park has been sold to hospitality operator Merivale (it owns more than 65 venues), adding to the group’s ever-growing pub empire.

This is the second inner-west property Justin Hemmes – CEO of Merivale – has acquired. It joins the Queen Victoria Hotel on Enmore Road, which was rebranded as the Queens Hotel in December last year. It also contains the refurbished Cantonese restaurant Queen Chow.

The deal was signed just last night and the amount paid for the pub is still unknown but it’s believed the multi-storey, 1247-square-metre venue was bought for upwards of $20 million.

This popular local is a vibrant community hub known for its live-music events, street art and family-friendly dining.

Merivale will take over the venue officially on November 13 and has stated it has no plans for a major refurbishment. Instead it plans to open with a renewed focus on the food. It won’t close, either; the pub will operate as usual during the transfer of ownership.

Merivale is also opening Mr Liquor’s Dirty Italian Disco, a pop-up Italian-American venue run in collaboration with Mike Eggert and Jemma Whiteman of Good Luck Pinbone later this month.